SILK ROAD 2.0 And Other Black Market Sites Were Shut Down As Part Of Operation Onymous

If you want to visit Silkroad 2.0 then you will want to know that it was shut down by the feds on 5th November 2014 and the alleged operator “Defcon” has been arrested. The best alternative is Agora Marketplace, it actually has more listings than Silk Road 2.0. Silk Road 3.0 is ALREADY live and there will be more info about it here soon.

Judicial agencies and law enforcement around the world undertook a joint action against Silkroad 2.0 and other black market sites running as hidden services on the Tor network. Sixteen European countries (United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Finland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Romania, Germany, France, Latvia, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland), alongside counterparts from the U.S, brought down several darknet marketplaces as part of an integrated international action called Operation Onymous, from the operational coordination center of Europol that is located in the Hague. The international action aimed to put an end to the sale, promotion and distribution of harmful and illegal items, including drugs and weapons, which were being sold on the online black markets.

Operation Onymous was coordinated by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Europol’s European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3), Eurojust and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) and it resulted in 17 arrests of administrators and vendors running these online marketplaces and seizure of 414 dark web domains. All of the darknet marketplaces in question were accessible through the Tor network, which according to those who took part in the investigation was compromised by means of an as yet undisclosed mechanism or tool. Additionally, bitcoins worth approximately USD 1 million, EUR 180,000 euro in cash, drugs, silver and gold were seized. Silkroad 2.0 was taken down and its alleged operator, 26-year-old Blake Benthall was arrested.

The alleged operator of Silkroad 2.0 was arrested due to what seem to be a series of obvious mistakes he made including, failing to mask his IP address when contacting the Silkroad 2.0 service providers and using an e-mail address ([email protected]) that included his name to register the Silkroad 2.0 servers. He also tweeted references to the Silkroad and to making bitcoin payments. He has been charged in court and if he’s convicted, he faces life in prison on drug trafficking, money laundering and other charges.

Operation Onymous is the second major operation that has been carried out against online darknet marketplaces. The first Silkroad, which had been launched in 2011, was shut down in October of 2013, and its alleged operator Ross Ulbricht was arrested. Silkroad 2.0 was launched a month later, and Blake Benthall is supposedly to have taken over the running of Silkroad in December of 2013.

It isn’t clear whether the operators of the other online darknet marketplaces that were shut down in the raid have been arrested, and if so, where their operations were located, but law enforcement is calling its action a clear victory.

Disclaimer

This website is just a blog that delivers the latest news on the Silk Road and it's latest versions of the Darknet Markets with the same name. We are in no way connected with these or any other Darknet Marketplaces. The information here is just intended for informational use and is not meant to be used for advice in any way. We do not endorse the use of illegal drugs and do not encourage any illegal activities in any way.